Syracuse Orange head coach Jim Boeheim gives instructions during the first half of a game against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights at the Carrier Dome. / Mark Konezny, USA TODAY Sports

by Jeff DiVeronica, USA TODAY Sports

by Jeff DiVeronica, USA TODAY Sports

SYRACUSE â?? When it was over at the Carrier Dome, after seventh-ranked Syracuse University routed Rutgers 78-53 to secure another win for Jim Boeheim, the coach didn't want to talk about victory No. 903, the one that moved him ahead of Bob Knight into second on the NCAA's all-time list.

"To me the numbers are not the story," the coach said, admitting that in recent days he has thought a bit about his Hall-of-Fame career. "The story is the players I've been able to coach, the coaches I've worked with, the coaches we've competed against all these years â?? so many great coaches, so many great games.

"It's those games and those battles that I think about. Unfortunately, I think about the losses too much, but someday maybe I'll get over that when I get really old, which isn't that far away."

Boeheim smiled. He is 68. This is his 37th season and most of the battles happened in the Big East Conference, which is in the midst of an upheaval that some say Syracuse, one of its founding members in 1979, started late in 2011 by announcing it was leaving for the Atlantic Coast Conference. So Wednesday was the Orange's 34th and last Big East opener.

Senior guard Brandon Triche led SU (13-1), which plays at noon Sunday at South Florida (8-3), with 25 points, two off his career high. He made 8 of 11 shots overall, including 5 of 6 from 3-point range. C.J Fair had 15 points and sophomore point guard Michael Carter-Williams added 12 points and 10 assists.

The Orange used a 21-0 surge over the final seven minutes of the first half to take a 39-20 lead against a Rutgers team that had won five straight. The Scarlet Knights (9-3) were welcoming back Mike Rice from a three-game university suspension for reportedly being too harsh in practices to players.

"When it was 20-18," Boeheim said, referring to Rutgers' only lead, "I really thought this would be a hard (game). We were playing really well and we were down two."

But Syracuse's zone helped force Rutgers into 11 straight misses to end the half and the second was more of the same.

Now only Duke's Mike Krzyzewski (940) ranks ahead of Boeheim in wins, and Boeheim has done it all at Syracuse, where he played from 192-66. His 356 wins are the most in Big East history and his 34 seasons with 20 or more wins are the most.

"It's a privilege to coach here," Boeheim said in a brief post-game ceremony on the court, where 17,413 fans saw SU extend the nation's longest home winning streak to 33 games. "I've had great, great players and they played pretty well tonight."

Teenagers want to play for Boeheim, Carter-Williams said. "He gives you so much freedom," he said. "He lets you play your game and not a lot of coaches do that."

That, along with the Big East and big crowds at the Dome, helped Boeheim attract so much talent to snowy Syracuse. Rutgers senior forward Dane Miller was one of those guys. But the Orange liked others better.

Still, Miller respects Boeheim. "He makes the right decisions, putting guys in position to be successful," said Miller, a fourth-year starter who had six points on 3-for-11 shooting and a team-high five assists.

John Wallace, who powered an undermanned SU team to the 1996 NCAA title game, where it lost to Kentucky, was at the Dome to see No. 903.

"His longevity is a testament to his style and his way of coaching," Wallace said. "He's been able to relate to guys, been able to keep (coaches) around him that can relate to guys."

Boeheim said he has received plenty of congratulatory calls and notes since becoming just the third coach in NCAA men's basketball history to reach 900 wins on Dec. 17.

Former St. John's great Chris Mullin was one. "That meant a lot to me," Boeheim said. "You can argue he's the best player that ever played in this league."

"I don't if I've ever seen a better good, young coach and I've seen some good ones, coached against some good ones," Boeheim said, bringing it back to people again, not numbers. "He just thanked me for my contributions to the game and if a young coach thinks that, then I'm really happy."